Search Newspaper Archive
Search through billions of newspaper articles for free! Find birth, marriage and death records and get access to all newspaper content with a free trial. Discover your family tree and read the history of any event, person, or location.Recent Searches
Success in Newspaper Archive Research
Whether you are looking for people, places, dates, or publications, our free newspaper archive search allows you to drill down and find exactly what you are looking for. If you are looking for specific stories or content, you may search by date, location, and name or keyword. If you want to learn something new about your favorite topics, check out our curated collections.
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Archive Research Tips and Tricks
- Use required and optional keywords. Newspaper transcription on Newspaper Archive is done by OCR technology and often has mistakes that will make some words difficult to search. Using multiple optional keywords will help you find records that include at least one keyword. On the other hand, required keywords will help you locate specific types of records when paired with a name search.
- Try alternate name spellings. Information for historical newspapers was recorded by hand and names were sometimes recorded incorrectly. In addition to misspellings, alternate names or nicknames may have been used. A married woman may be recorded by her maiden name or her husband's name. If your searches don’t return anything, try alternate names and name spellings.
- Check different locations. You may know exactly where your ancestors are from, but it’s important to search newspapers in surrounding towns and cities. Look not only in your family’s hometown, but in surrounding towns. Your ancestors may have had influence in neighboring towns through work or volunteer efforts.
- Search by publication. If you know a family member was mentioned in a publication, there is a chance they or another member is mentioned in a later or earlier edition of the newspaper.
- Narrow your search terms. If your search is returning too many results, add more keywords, narrow the date range, or specify location. Add as much information as you can to your search.
- Broaden your search terms. If no results are showing when you search, try taking away all of the specifics. Make sure your dates allow publication time, take away unimportant names, and remove any unnecessary keywords.
- Search with additional names. Particularly when you are looking for an ancestor, it may be helpful to add names to your search. When looking for a family member, try adding a parent, sibling, or spouse’s name as a keyword.
How to Search Newspaper Archives for Beginners
1. Prepare
Whether you are looking for a person, event, or subject, compile all of your known information. Keep track of dates, names, and locations.
2. Enter
Advanced Search allows you to enter multiple different kinds of data, so you will have plenty of room to add all the information you’ve collected.
3. Review
Review the search results. Browse some of the newspapers to see if they have the stories and information you are looking for.
4. Refine Search Terms
If you can't find what you are looking for, it’s time to refine your results. Take a look at the tips and tricks above to find clues on how to get more relevant results.
5. Success!
You found what you’re looking for! Now you can save old newspaper articles by clipping them. View your saved newspaper clippings in your projects.
Try Searching Records through Obituaries
Obituaries are an excellent resource for genealogy research. Obituaries often provide death dates, family names, and other vital information that will help you grow your family tree, but obituaries also offer memories and stories. Learn about your ancestors’ lives through obituaries.
Family History in Historical Newspapers
While government and church records are typically the go-to for family history research, newspapers may surprise you with their wealth of family history help.
Searching through our records, you may stumble upon a news announcement for a family business or a photograph or an ancestor’s graduating class. You may find mentions of names, dates, or other important information that will help you fill out your family tree.
When other records fail, old newspapers often fill in the gaps. In newspapers, you can find information about:
- Births
- Marriages
- Deaths
- Divorces
- Arrests
- Elections
- Volunteer work
- Church news
These articles and more can help you fill in your family tree and trace your line back even further. They also bring you priceless stories that help you build your family narrative. Dive into your Newspaper Archive search and find your family!
